← 12 Dec Friday 13 December 2019 · to 23:59 UTC 14 Dec →
What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
19,006 stories about harm· Trends· Every past day

We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.

How to read these numbers →

Violence in Niamey, a disaster in White Island and refugees in India drew the news. Iraq's coverage was about twice as angry as the world's. In the world's news as a whole, the wording was softer than usual.

Part of lifeRights & justice 32 in 100 of the stories about harm · about as usual Country that rose mostArmenia 44 in 100 of its 186 stories, usually 17
RegionSouth Asia 30 in 100 of its stories, usually 23
Tone of the words Softer than usual across the world's stories about harm

What the world's news was about today

how these are picked →
Conflict & violence

Niger

39 of its 48 stories (81%) were about people being harmed, usually 43%. Niamey accounted for 18 of Niger's 39 stories about harm, carried by 112 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about twice the usual rate (22 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Disasters & accidents

New Zealand

390 of its 994 stories (39%) were about people being harmed, usually 25%. White Island accounted for 193 of New Zealand's 390 stories about harm, carried by 298 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (270 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.

Rights & justice

India

1,586 of its 5,669 stories (28%) were about people being harmed, usually 20%. Reports of refugees ran at about 6 times the usual rate (67 stories). Snowstorms were named in 14 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.

6 more places the news pointed at
Conflict & violence

Bosnia

15 of its 20 stories (75%) were about people being harmed, usually 31%. Reports of people displaced ran at more than ten times the usual rate (5 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.

Rights & justice

Pakistan

266 of its 795 stories (33%) were about people being harmed, usually 26%. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (103 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Armenia

81 of its 186 stories (44%) were about people being harmed, usually 17%. Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Türkiye

170 of its 409 stories (42%) were about people being harmed, usually 27%. Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.

Disasters & accidents

South Sudan

31 of its 45 stories (69%) were about people being harmed, usually 48%. Hunger was named in 10 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual.

Displacement

Guatemala

16 of its 26 stories (62%) were about people being harmed, usually 37%. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (6 stories).

Also named far more than usual: flooding in Trinidad & Tobago (12 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); hunger in South Sudan (10 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); volcanic eruption in Australia (47 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); flooding in Mexico (13 of its stories, about 10 times its usual); landslides in UK (64 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).

16 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 18; 17 the day before
21 in 10016 in 10014 Nov21 Nov28 Nov5 Dec13 Dec14 Nov: 17 in 10015 Nov: 17 in 10016 Nov: 18 in 10017 Nov: 18 in 10018 Nov: 17 in 10019 Nov: 17 in 10020 Nov: 16 in 10021 Nov: 16 in 10022 Nov: 16 in 10023 Nov: 17 in 10024 Nov: 19 in 10025 Nov: 17 in 10026 Nov: 18 in 10027 Nov: 18 in 10028 Nov: 18 in 10029 Nov: 17 in 10030 Nov: 20 in 1001 Dec: 21 in 1002 Dec: 18 in 1003 Dec: 17 in 1004 Dec: 16 in 1005 Dec: 17 in 1006 Dec: 18 in 1007 Dec: 20 in 1008 Dec: 19 in 1009 Dec: 18 in 10010 Dec: 18 in 10011 Dec: 18 in 10012 Dec: 17 in 10013 Dec: 16 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 13 Dec. The big dot is this day; the shaded band is a normal day (the 30 days before it). Click a day to open it. Based on 19,006 stories about harm among 116,526 counted on 13 Dec.

Read the day's briefing

It was the second day running that the news turned to Niger. of the day's 116,526 news stories, 16 in every 100 were about people being harmed, below the usual 18. Trinidad & Tobago's news mentioned flooding about 5 times as often as usual. Niger's news was 81% about people being harmed, against a usual 43%. A year earlier, on 13 December 2018, 18 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 16 today.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
Istanbul, Türkiye -- attacks & violence: 24 stories, carried by 32 outlets; harsh wording in 88 in 100Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong -- protests & strikes: 17 stories, carried by 36 outlets; harsh wording in 82 in 100Quetta, Pakistan -- accidents & disasters: 21 stories, carried by 44 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Beirut, Lebanon -- protests & strikes: 20 stories, carried by 31 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Ghazni, Afghanistan -- attacks & violence: 14 stories, carried by 29 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Madrid, Spain -- protests & strikes: 38 stories, carried by 67 outlets; harsh wording in 68 in 100Vancouver, Canada -- accidents & disasters: 78 stories, carried by 96 outlets; harsh wording in 86 in 100Strathmore, UK -- accidents & disasters: 8 stories, carried by 82 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Tripoli, Libya -- attacks & violence: 21 stories, carried by 49 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Lahore, Pakistan -- protests & strikes: 64 stories, carried by 48 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Sydney, Australia -- accidents & disasters: 82 stories, carried by 79 outlets; harsh wording in 90 in 100White Island, Australia -- accidents & disasters: 37 stories, carried by 49 outlets; harsh wording in 86 in 100San Francisco, US -- accidents & disasters: 138 stories, carried by 203 outlets; harsh wording in 79 in 100Berlin, Germany -- people displaced: 45 stories, carried by 140 outlets; harsh wording in 89 in 100Niamey, Niger -- attacks & violence: 18 stories, carried by 112 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Ankara, Türkiye -- attacks & violence: 79 stories, carried by 111 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Bagram, Afghanistan -- attacks & violence: 82 stories, carried by 118 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Algiers, Algeria -- protests & strikes: 43 stories, carried by 142 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Guwahati, India -- protests & strikes: 220 stories, carried by 190 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Baghdad, Iraq -- protests & strikes: 62 stories, carried by 213 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Whakatane, New Zealand -- accidents & disasters: 63 stories, carried by 254 outlets; harsh wording in 92 in 100Bastogne, Belgium -- attacks & violence: 12 stories, carried by 214 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Jersey City, US -- attacks & violence: 259 stories, carried by 565 outlets; harsh wording in 91 in 100White Island, New Zealand -- accidents & disasters: 193 stories, carried by 298 outlets; harsh wording in 91 in 100
Attacks & violenceAccidents & disastersPeople displacedDeaths, cause not givenProtests & strikesDisease & outbreaks

The day's biggest events: attacks, accidents and disasters, people displaced, protests, outbreaks. Bigger dot: more stories. Ranked by the share of the day's outlets that reported it and how clearly it was about one thing, the same way for every place and year; the news data does not say who attacked whom, so both sides of a war appear where the news put them. Click a dot for its stories.

The day in three measures

How it felt 30 days →

harshwarm

The words in the day's stories were softer than usual. Filled dot: today. Ring: usual.

● Angerabout as usual
● Warmthabout as usual
● Griefabout as usual
● Fearabout as usual

From the words reporters used across the whole day, never one story. Fear is the weakest of the four measures. How?

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How to read these numbers →

These are counts of stories, not counts of suffering. Most of what happens to people is never reported at all.